Have you ever worked with someone who isn’t your direct report but they are still absolutely your problem?
They disrupt meetings, derail progress, and damage morale but because they’re not officially yours people freeze. They stay silent.
Here’s the truth. Influence has nothing to do with position. It has everything to do with taking responsibility.
A healthy high performance culture doesn’t tolerate poor behavior, and it certainly doesn’t tolerate silence about it. You don’t need a title to step up. You need clarity about what you stand for and the courage to protect the team dynamic.
So start by addressing the behavior, not the person, asking questions instead of making accusations, framing it as support for the mission, not a personal critique.
Because when one person is disruptive and nobody says anything, that’s how culture erodes fast. So get involved. Speak up. Ask the disruptor for what you need. Don’t sit by as an observer or you become a part of the problem.
– Roxanne Emmerich